"Where shall we go?"
"But that's all it is, memories. Our house is gone. The mountain's gone. Our life here's gone. And now... now, Twig's gone too."
— Hilda
Twig runs away in the dark of the night and into the wilderness, leading Hilda and Johanna on a search that brings about memories of first meetings and unexpected origins.
Song at the end: "Hilda's Theme" by Ryan Carlson
Tropes:
- All Animals Are Dogs: Twig waiting for Hilda to come home from school is reminiscent of many a Canine Companion missing their human. And the adult deerfoxes howl like wolves (foxes make more of a high-pitched “yowl” sound.)
- All for Nothing: While they successfully retrieved his shoes in the second try, Hilda and Frida are disappointed that their quest came for a naught when David reveals to have been wearing spare shoes at the time.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: The wolf that chases Twig is a bright red.
- An Aesop: Everything changes, you can't always go back to how things were, but you'll always remember it happened.
- Another Dimension: Deerfoxes are shown to be living in one.
- Big Damn Heroes: In a flashback, it is revealed that when they were younger, Twig showed up just in time to save Hilda from falling off a ledge. In the present day, he shows up just in time again to prevent the wolf from catching Hilda.
- Book Ends: The beginning and ending of this episode feature Hilda, Frida, and David trying to retrieve the latter's stolen shoes from a ghost. While they failed at first, they succeeded in the end because they have brought Twig this time around.
- Break the Cutie: Hilda has a severe massive breakdown over everything that has changed and breaks down crying. Bella Ramsey was actually crying while they were recording their dialogue.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Twig.
- Disney Villain Death: Twig and Hilda manage to trick the wolf into falling off a cliff into the ravine. Its impact isn't directly shown, but it does not land in the river.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Right after Hilda says the quote above, she tears up and looks away. Seeing this, Johanna is worried and approaches her with an outreached hand, intending to comfort her. Hilda then cries harder and runs away from her mother. She then reaches a log in the woods and continues crying on top of there, wanting to express her sadness alone.
- Dream Sequence: Twig has two early in the episode where he dreams about his home dimension.
- Ending Theme: This is the second episode to play the full version of "Hilda's Theme". It is not only an emotional way to close the episode but it really hits closer to fans that had stuck with Hilda since the beginning of the series.
- Extra-Long Episode: The episode exceeds the usual 22-minute time limit, extending to 30 minutes.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Near the end of a long journey, Hilda and Johanna are scaling a tall cliff. It seems that Hilda's mother is finally starting to enjoy herself, and Hilda takes a moment to banter with her... only to look over and see Johanna terrified. A moment later, Hilda looks to her other side and realizes why.Johanna: Keep climbing, Hilda. Just, don't look to your right.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: At the end, Twig has to choose whether he wants to go and live amongst his kind or stay with Hilda and Johanna. While he initially chooses the former, a manifestation of his conscience spurs him to go back to Hilda.
- Girlish Pigtails: Younger Hilda has them in the flashbacks.
- I Choose to Stay: At the end of the episode, Twig chooses to be with Hilda.
- Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: When Hilda flees from the wolf, the beast manages to snatch one of her boots.
- Mama Bear: An eagle swoops at younger Hilda because she gets too close to its nest. Defending its young is notably shown to be the eagle's top priority — when Twig shows up and growls at it, it doesn't pick a fight and instead settles for sitting on its nest protectively.
- Noodle Incident: Whatever led to a ghost stealing David's shoes.
- Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You: Twig returns after Hilda thinks he's gone for good. She briefly brushes him off, then realizes he's returned with surprised joy.
- Once More, with Clarity: The first time we see Twig rescue Hilda as she falls, it’s from Hilda’s perspective, leaving it a mystery how Twig got onto the cliff with her so quickly. Later we see it again from Twig’s perspective, and discover he used a light path in the sky identical to the ones his kind uses to travel between dimensions.
- Origins Episode: We get to see how Hilda met and took in Twig, as well as where Twig came from in the first place.
- Riddle for the Ages: We don’t know how the ghost stole David’s shoes. David is about to blame Hilda when Frida cuts him off, and Alfur claims there are quite some contradicting facts about the incident.
- Savage Wolves: A wolf stalks Twig during his night in the wilderness, and it later attacks Hilda as well.
- Schmuck Bait: Hilda is climbing and suddenly notices her mother become frightened and stiffen up. She warns her daughter to not look to her right. A nonplussed Hilda immediately looks to the right. Big mistake.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Frida and David only appear during the scenes where Hilda, Frida, and David chase down the ghost that stole David's shoes. They are completely absent during the emotional sequences where Hilda and Johanna head out to reunite with Twig.
- So Much for Stealth:
- When Frida, Hilda and David sneak up on the ghost that stole David’s shoes, David accidentally alerts him when he steps in a puddle.
- When Twig tries to catch a rabbit, he steps onto a twig, startling the rabbit.
- Spanner in the Works: Had Twig decided not to leave his family to save Hilda from falling to her doom all those years ago, then everything that happened in the series would never have happened.
- Super-Persistent Predator: Twig initially avoids the wolf by hiding in the ruins of Hilda's old house, but after he leaves the next day, it manages to find him again. It does stop short of following him into a river, though given that Hilda encounters it on the cliff face opposite from where it was last seen, it may have still been trying to track Twig down even after that.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Twig has led a sheltered life even in one of his natural habitats (the wilderness) and never had to hunt before, so his attempt to catch a rabbit fails miserably.
- Tears of Joy: Hilda lets out happy tears after Twig decides to stay. At both times, Bella Ramsey was actually crying while she was recording her dialogue.
- Thanking the Viewer: There's only one way for this episode to thank the fans for two years of adventure and mystery...playing the full version of "Hilda's Theme" over the credits.
- Tropey, Come Home: Twig runs away and Hilda and Johanna try to find him.
- Wintry Auroral Sky: The aurora borealis is visible in the night sky above a snowy forest clearing full of deer foxes; it apparently has magic properties, as a light bridge extends from the borealis to earth, allowing the deer foxes to ascend to Another Dimension.
"Our first adventure, Twig. Just you and me. Where shall we go?"
